Fishing rod



Nov. 4, 1952 F. G. ROMBERGER FISHING ROD 2 sl-mEsl-SHEET 1 Filed Aug.23, 1948 NAN NONQW 0N lllllllll ||||I|| l nlllllllf flint SN@ mm 2 "uw"en uw @n im @5w y? oo No@ Mw o@ n@ N hm @N 4.,.rr Y) X5 R f bm o bwmwhm NN NM n bm Nov. 4, 1952 F. G. ROMBERGER FISHING ROD 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2Filed Aug. 23, 1948 Srzventor Frank G. Bombe/ger www iw 5g ttor'nesPatented Nov. 4, 1952 UNITED-1 STATES APATENT OFFICE FISHING RODv Frank.Romberger, Elizabeth, N. J. Application August 23, 1948, Serial No.45,611 Claims. (Cl. 431-17) ievootion. roldioso @Shire rode. more..particularlyv to.` fishing.. rods suitable for. freshA water.. or. salt`waterfishing, eitherl still fishing.

ory casting and .for-.day andY vnight operation.

Efforts have been maden the pasttofprovide shing rods suitable vfor,Ause for. night'. iisvhing andLemploying. a light whichis. causedtofflash when a 'quarry bites or is hooked on the line;

Most of. these devices relay. on awkward and complicated. switching.mechanism having'` ex} tended arms ort levers yfor operating aswitchfor.

controlling. battery'andvlight bulb, the battery. and light bulb beingsupported'in position'on thegrod in a separate. containerfattachedtothe.,`

rod. Thesefdevicesare normallyfinsensitive and, aredncapablev` ofdifferentiating between abito. and a.; steady pull. When iishingy in thedark, it is o f course'veryy dilcult, if not impossible'I for.afflsherman to` watch vhis pole. 'He must depend entirely -uponffreelQAs pointed out eiforts` have.. been made 'to supply a shing pole withvattachments .for indicating. or signalling as. by. a, light. when the lsherman has a. bite, or nibble.l Many o f the now known de vices forthis purpose are'so complicatedas tofdiscourage their user Inmanyinstances their:- addition. or incorporation invshing equipment,results in.l sucnbulky and insensitive4 structures as to lead thefisherman to disregard these devices.

Anothorobjootoi. my invention is'o ,provide a nox/.o1 'andimproved ii1..i.i .=dtine moans .for d fishingl rpdjwhereinthe presence of iish onlthe line idrdidiok. by @filling ofv a lamp. or Wherer o.

the maligne is; provided: with, chambers -"fori reif'.'

odvigfoairdl parte Snoh- 'dS batteries. 'and light billes;

These andothor'oioioois will bo described how.

'Irjhe nQyeLieaturesWhich 1 believe to be chardoteiidtio. oflfmvfiiiviitaeeoi foiiifwih par tlcularity in the lappended claims, butthelfin-y vention itself will best be underdtq@ (byrffei' epee. te;followiee desde .ioeidkoa in. oonnectlon with the accompanying drawingin which handle.

Figure lis a view withfparts disconnected and positioned" inv propersequence"`so that "when"- screwed together theyy provide a fishing polesuitj"4 able, forsurf casting, FigureZ shows a portion whichreplacesother parts of tlfiem'handleY vvhenfy it is desired to shortenthe poleffor s'tillfor fresh water ishingi *Figure`A 3' isi alongitudinal section of a portion of thepole in combination with 'thenovel indicating means made according to my ini-'Q vention; Figuref4shows"`dtails of a portion "f Figure 3; Figure 5 shows details of -areversible." coupling `for modifying the pole gfroma surf'cast-f ingpole to a still waterv fishing vpolev and vice versa; Figure 6 showsdetails of the batteryfsup yport and connection utilized in thecombination shown in Figure v3; Figure 7 shows details oi the batteryconnection used in connection with the batteries, andFigureBvshowsamodicatin oi'y Figure 3.

Referring to Figure 1, a shing pole made according to`my inventionincludes the usual ple portion III, a part only of which is shown. Thisis slidably receivedwith a machine t into the` end II` of the reversiblecoupling membery I2 having threaded endsv I3 and I4, either ofv whichcan be received within the threaded portion`2-l of member 22 ofthe'pole. Supported on the threaded'portions I3 and I #are rotatableknurl collars I5 and I6 carrying collar members I1 and I8 for receivingand locking the fishingy reel I9 in place. The. details of thisreversible cou-i pling member.' will 'be described below.

The portion 2II is provided with a hollow cham-r ber4 22' for receivingthe; light-bulb operating mechanism shown in dotted lines and has. thebeaded portion 20 for facilitating gripping ofthe One endv is providedwith the inner` threaded portion 23 for receiving outer threaded endportion 24 of the handle element 25 having beads 25 for gripping and isalso provided withy the hollow chamber 26 which may be used to carry anextra light bulb and batteries. The threaded end portion 21. is.received within the. threaded portion `'29 ofthe end element 28. of .the

pole which maybe provided withfavcushion` 30H. of y softv material. Itwill be thus seen thatA all.

of -these portions or. elements. can be screwedftofi gether to provideal unitary. structure'for plllf. poses to be described.

Iny accordance with my invention I provide an extremely sensitive. andaccurately adjustablen irre dicating. mechanism within the chamber 22"di the handle.` As shown inY Figure 3 thechafmber 22 is'provided,atene, end with the' restrit d recess. 4I. 'The portion 215,? isY also yprovided th` a chamber 26"V 25 are engaged provide an enclosed chamberhaving a restricted well recess 42.

Within the chamber is mounted the battery and light bulb assemblycomprising the batteries 48 and 49 received within the insulatingtubular member 43 having a lip 44. This tubular member has at one endthe cap 45 having the opening 45' adjacent which is seated theflashlight bulb 46. Connected between the ilashlight bulb 46 and the endof the battery is the spring 41 which normally keeps the batteryterminal 58 from contacting the terminal 5D of the bulb so that an opencircuit is provided. This assembly is spring supported for slidablecontact within the chamber at both ends. end, a ball 5| is provided witha passageway 52 extending therethrough for receiving the spring 53 whichspring supports conical element 54` within the passageway or bore, theend extending into recess 4|. At the larger end of the conical member ismounted ball element 56 spring .supported on the stud 55 Vand springpressed 'outwardly by means of the spring 51 into engagement in theaperture 45 in the cap member 45. Mounted to the other end of thebattery assembly is the springr 60 within the well 42 which springsupports ball-like member Y6| having a recess extending therethrough inwhich the conicalshaped member 62 is supported bv means of the spring6|', the end supporting the ball 63. It will thus be seen that the lightbulb is spring biased awav from the battery-and that the battery andlight bulb with the insulating supporting casing 43 are spring supportedwithin the chamber by spring assemblies at either end.

Under conditions to be described, contact is made between the terminal58' of the light'bulb and terminal 50 to place the bulb across the twobatteries in series. The electrical circuit will be 'described inconnection with Figures 6 and '7.

Batteries 48 and 49 are supported within the insulating sleeve 1|),provided with lip 1| for covering the outer edge of the battery casingof the battery 48. It is understood that this assembly is mounted Withinthe insulating tube 43."Mounted on the outside of the insulatingr casingis a connecting conductor comprising an elongated conductor 13 having atone end ring 14 positioned against collar 1| but insulated from thebattery. The other end of the conductor or connector is provided withspring clin 15 so that a circuit is completed from terminal 50 ofbattery 48 through the terminal 49 of battery 49, clip 15, conductor 13,back to the ring 14. Thus when the batteries are pressed against theterminal 50 of the light bulb a circuit is completed from this contactthrough the batteries, conductor 13. ring 14, spring member 41 and screwportion 50 of the light bulb.

While the applicant does not wish to be held to the theory describedbelow, to the best of his knowledge and belief the operation describedexplains what happens in connection with his device. If the pole is heldverticallyY with the bumper 30 down and the bottom of the batteries atthe lower end, the entire weight of the batteries, light bulb and caseis supported by means of the element 62, placing springs 60 and 6| undercompression. Under these conditions the space between the terminals v50and 50 is at a maximum. As the pole is tilted from a vertical to ahorizontal position more and more of the weight of vthebatteries iscarried by the walls of the chamber and less bysprings 68 and 6|,permit-A As shown at the left hand 1 ting energy stored in these springsto compress still further and further the springs 52, 51 and 41. Forpredetermined conditions of adjustment, a certain angle will be reachedWhere the forces are so balanced that contact is made between terminals58 and 50', thus completing a circuit between the light bulb and batteryterminals. It is possible to accurately and minutely adjust the balancebetween the various springs by screwing the two portions 20 and 25 ofthe handle toward and away from each other to determine the langle atWhich contact will be made between termaterial, at night for baiting orother purposes for which a light may be desired, thus eliminating theneed for an extra iiashlight.

Chamber 4B may be used to store extra batteries and extra light bulbsforreplacement purl pOSeS.

The modification shown in Figure 8 includes I the tubular metalliccasing 80 having a closure member 8| screw threaded to fit the end ofthe casing. This screw threaded portion 8| receives the light bulb 46having one contact 58'.` Two batteries 48 and 49 provided with insulatedpaper covers are slidably mounted, within the casing,

and maintained out of contact with the light bulb 46 by means of spring82 so that no contacts occur between contacts 50, when the pole is in avertical position. A clear plastic bead 83I v The other` receives theend of the light bulb 46. end of the casing is provided with a slidablemetallic disc 84 contacting the Walls of the metallic tubular member orcasing 80 at the bottom of the battery 49 so that when the spring 82 iscompressed to permit contact between contacts 50 and 50' a circuit iscompleted from the light bulb through contacts 50, 50', batteries 48 and49, disc 84, casing 80, closure member 8| to bulb In this arrangementthe spring support ,comprises the member 88, spring mounted by means ofspring 81 and the ball-like support 86 received within a depression inthe chamber of the handle. Supported at the other end of the member 88is a spherical member supporting therein a second the same mannerdescribed above for the rst modication.

While I have indicated the preferred embodi ments of my invention ofwhich I am now aware and have also indicated only one specific applica.4tion for which my invention may be employed, it will be apparent that myinvention is by no means limited to theexact forms illustrated or theuse indicated, but that many variations may be made in the particularkstructure used and the purpose for which it is employed withoutdeparting from the scopeof my invention as set forth in th appendedclaims.

` What I claim as new is:

A ,nshing pole Ahaving a handle-provided witlf' This assembly ismaintained on meman. elongated chamber; a batteryf andi light bulbassembly supported =withinsaldi chamber "and in, cluding a tubular-'icasing, aelightfbulbl'at one end. of said tubular' casing;l said1tubular-fI casingn re-d ceivingf therewithinf a ibat-tery; resilientyimea-nszpo e sitionedlbetween saidE light bulb' and saidibattery:andfnormally biased to lmaintain ianI open: circuit-f between-v saidlighti bulb and said battery; a; resilient'V support forf said'assemblyy saidfresilientf` meansandsaid :resilientsup'port' beingvadjusted: whereby when saidpole is tiltedi'iromzthevertical! toexceed-'a| certain degree-,f-energy stcredinfsaid". resilientsupport isd'eliveredtb-Lsaidfbattery andii light". bulbassembly to' compresssaid?. resilient" means supportedv between. said battery and lightbulb-to make contact'betweensaid light bulb and battery to cause said.lghtbulbto be illuminated.

2. A shing pole Vhaving a, handle provided with anzelongatedv chamber, abattery andlight bulb assembly slidably supported withinisaid chamber.and including a tubular'casingarlight bulb at one end of said tubularcasing, a battery slidably mounted within said casing, a: springpositioned between, said light bulb and said battery;v and normallybiased to maintain an open circuit between said light bulb and said"battery, a resilientsupport at one end of saidassembly, the resilientsupport-contactingthe end of said battery whereby when saidpole istilted -toexceed a certain degree from the verticalenergy stored insaidresilient support is delivered tosaid battery and'light bulb tocompress sai'd spring supported between said battery and-light 'bulb tomake-*contact between said light bulb and battery to cause said lightbulb to be illuminated.

3. A iishing pole having a handle provided with an elongated chamber,the ends of which are provided with restricted recesses, a battery andlight bulb assembly slidably supported within said chamber and includinga tubular casing, a light bulb in one end of said tubular casing, saidcasing having therew-ithin a, battery, a spring positioned between saidlight bulb and said battery and normally biased to maintain an opencircuit between said light bulb and said battery, a spring support atone end of said assembly and including a spring pressed element andmeans for supportingsaid spring pressed element within said recess, thespring pressed element contacting the end of said assembly and a secondspring support mounted in the other recess of said chamber and having anelement contacting the battery, and means for adjusting the stresseswithin spring and spring elements whereby when said pole is tilted toexceed a certain degree from the Vertical energy stored in one of saidspring supports is delivered to said battery and light bulb to compresssaid spring between said battery and light bulb to make contact betweensaid light bulb and battery to cause said light bulb to be illuminated.

4. A shing pole having a handle provided with an elongated chamber, theends of which are provided with restricted recesses, a battery and lightbulb assembly slidably supported within said chamber and including a,tubular casing, a light bulb in one end of said tubular casing, saidcasing having therewithin a battery, a spring positioned between saidlight bulb and said battery and normally biased to maintain an opencircuit between said light bulb and said battery, a spring support atone end of said assembly and including a spring pressed element andmeans for supporting said spring pressed element within said recess, thespring pressed element contacting the end of said assembly and a secondspring support mounted in stored" in. one `of vsaid ,springv supports isdelivered` to said battery and lightbulb to compress said springYbetween saidv battery and light bulb to make contact' betweensaid lightbulb and batteryA to cause-said light bulb to be illuminated, means foradjusting'stresses in said spring andspring.v`

elements including. a two-part handle. having means for permittingrelativev adjustment be,-v

tweensaidparts forrincreasingy or decreasingfthe` length of'saidchamber.

5. A shingspole having a tubular elementpro-l videdvxzithJ a chamber,`an assemblyv comprising'- a tubularfrrlember-v open atone .end mountedwithin` said'chamber, alight bulb. at; the end off said tubular member;a-ibattery withinv said'l tu-J bular. member.l and 1 resilient meansIbetween said light bulb. and said battery maintainingl said; battery.and said'light bulb out? of' contactwith eachother, and aresilient meansbetween the open end of said tubular member and an end wall of saidchamber and contactingv the end of said battery,.said'last resilientmeans supporting substantially'all ofthe weight of said assembly whensaid'pole is in avertical position.

6. Arishing pole having a portion supporting. a batteryfand light bulbassembly, said assembly-y including a casing in which said lightbulb-and.

batteryr are mounted, resilient means betweenv said battery and lightbulb biasing said battery and light bulb out of contact with each other,resilient means on said pole and contacting said assembly andresiliently supporting said assembly with respect to said pole andadapted to transfer stresses from said resilient means to said batteryand light bulb assembly when said pole is tilted to a predeterminedangle from a vertical position for causing contact between said batteryand said light bulb by neutralizing said biasing means.

7. A fishing pole having a portion provided with a hollow chamber, abattery and a light bulb assembly, said assembly including a casingsupporting a battery and light bulb and slidably supported within saidchamber, resilient means between said battery and said light bulbbiasing said light bulb away from said battery to maintain an opencircuit therebetween, resilient means in contact with said battery andlight bulb assembly and said pole, said resilient means redistributingstresses stored within said resilient means when said pole is tilted toa predetermined angle from a vertical position for transferring stressesfrom said resilient means to said biasing means for neutralizing theeffect of said biasing means and causing contact between said batteryand said light bulb.

8. A iishing pole having a portion provided with a hollow chamber, abattery and light bulb assembly having a casing supporting a battery anda light bulb and slidably supported within said chamber, resilient meansbetween said light bulb and said battery biasing said light bulb awayfrom said battery to maintain an open circuit therebetween, spring meansmounted on both ends of said chamber and in contact with the ends ofsaid battery and light bulb assembly said spring means redistributingstresses stored within said spring means when said pole is tilted from avertical position to a predetermined angle to the vertical fortransferring stresses from said spring means to said biasing means forneutralizing the effect of said biasing means and causing contactbetween said battery and said bulb.

9. A fishing pole having` a handle provided with an elongated chamber, abattery and light bulb assembly having a casing supporting a battery anda light bulb and slidably mounted within said chamber, spring meanspositioned between said light bulb and battery for maintaining saidlight bulb out of contact with said battery, a spring element at one endof said chamber and contacting one end of said light bulb and batteryassembly, and a second spring element at the other end of said chamberand icontacting the other end of said light bulb and battery assembly,said spring elements and spring means being adjusted so that a balanceis established therebetween for permitting the spring means to maintainsaid light bulb and battery out of contact with each other but causingsaid spring means to be placed under compression whereby said light bulband battery are brought into contact with each otherto causeillumination of said light bulb when said pole reaches a certain degreeof tilt from the vertical.

10. A fishing pole having a handle provided with an elongated chamber, abattery and light bulb assembly having a casing supporting a bat-v teryand a light bulb and slidably mounted within said chamber, spring meanspositioned between the light bulb and battery of said assembly formaintaining said light bulb out of contact with said battery, a springat one end of said chamber and contacting one end ofsaid light bulb andbattery assembly, and a second spring at the other end of said chamberand contacting the other end ofv said light bulb and battery assembly,said springs and spring means being adjusted so that a Abalance isestablished therebetween for permitting the spring means to maintainsaid light bulb and battery out of con-l tact with each other when thepole is in a vertical position but causing said spring means to beplaced under compression whereby said light bulb and battery are broughtinto contact with each other to cause illumination of said light bulbwhen said pole reaches a certain degree of tilt.

FRANK G. ROMBERGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 583,016 Bacon May 25, 1897828,557 Levison Aug, 14, 1906 1,964,949 Janzen July 3, 1934 2,002,135Barton May 21, 1935 2,008,201 Goertzen July 27, 1937 2,122,215 SaelenJune 28, 1938 2,150,644I Batcheller May 14, 1939 2,252,358 Tosi Aug. 12,1941 2,349,077 Comparelli May 16, 1944 2,409,988 Schwebs Oct. 22, 1946

